Paula lives in central Vienna, loves to ride her bike and truly enjoys publishing her photos on this blog. So this is Paula's Diary. A blog, rather than facebook.

Monday, 31 March 2014

Why waste?

Hello!

I am back from the service station, it was tougher than I had expected. The problem was: the people who work there are professionals. They care about bicycles. They see how much or how little care you take and - they let you know. They dissaprove rusty chains and rust in general.

I fought for my reputation: "But there was the salt, you know, the salty snow, after 10 minutes the chain will be a rusty mess the next day."
I was hoping for some respect. How many people ride their bike in the snow?
The problem is: that snow was like 5 weeks ago.

I asked, how much the new parts would cost in total. 400 EUR.

This calculation lead straight to the idea of a new bike = 650 EUR. Fully equipped, better components.

The idea of a new bike sounds seducing. An old bike remains an old bike, no matter how many parts you replace.
But it was not plan, I only wanted to repair the worn out and broken
parts.

is this waste?

Buying a new bike is good for the company which produces bikes.
Buying
a new bike is bad for the environment, because during the production
process, the company uses a lot energy, the bike has to be shipped -
probably with a truck - it comes with plastic wrapping etc.
Ok, ok, I do realise this sound radical.

What to do?
I stood there in the service station like a wet, showered cat: unhappy and without a plan.

I looked down at the broken pedal and decided to start with a quick fix:

new pedals, old bike

19 EUR later I was good to go. Not without the man at the service station complaining about the rust.

On my way home I came past these waste containers.

The old floors and the old doors in the waste containers somehow tell the story of my bike: one day they in use, the next day they are waste, because someone you decides to go for something new. IYou can tell, I don't feel comfortable, turning goods into waste. Why waste? What is my responsibility?

It is irresponsible to ride a bike with worn out brakes, tires and a broken pedal. Replacing the pedals as a quick fix was the right thing to do. The brakes and tires will be replaced next week, for a fraction of the 400 EUR, far from the price for a new bike.

Some of the parts are "nice to have", they won't hazard me or others. The extended mudguard made of an empty mineral-water
bottle plus scotch tape even serves as an icebreaker, because it looks so ridiculous. Ridiculous might be an appropriate label for this posting. ;-)

I might take this very seriously. Thinking about your own responsibilty is probably not the worst thing to do on a Sunday morning.

Paula

PS: did you notice? Street photography arrived at the blog! The young man was ripping out the floor tiles of the apartment and I asked him, if it is ok to take a photo. I should do this more often, because it is fun.